Information, Shops & Services on Espiritu Santo

Santo has a smaller shopping and dining scene than Port Vila, but you’ll still find everything you need for a practical stay, especially if you’re based in Luganville. The only options for food once you leave Luganville are resort and bungalow restaurants and roadside fruit stalls only along the East Coast Road, so plan accordingly.

Supermarkets and Convenience Stores

Luganville is the main place to buy groceries on Santo, with a handful of mid-sized supermarkets and plenty of smaller convenience stores around town. The main supermarkets to know include:

• LCM Supermarket, Main Street, Luganville
• Daming Supermarket, Avenue Pasteur and Avenue Picanon, Luganville
• Dmart, Boulevard du Général de Gaulle, Luganville
• Sunshine Supermarket, Main Street, near Luganville Market

LCM Supermarket generally has one of the more varied grocery selections in town, opening around 7:30 am or 8 am to 6 pm on weekdays, with shorter Saturday hours.

Daming is another useful larger option and is especially handy for later shopping, as it opens around 7:30 am and stays open until 9 pm.

Sunshine Supermarket has a less varied grocery selection than LCM and Daming, but can be handy for general goods. Convenience stores are also easy enough to find around Luganville, but they become nonexistent once you leave town.

For more details on food shopping across the country, see A Guide to Supermarkets & Food Shopping in Vanuatu.

Markets and Roadside Stalls

For fresh produce, head to Luganville Market on Main Street, between Cook Street and Sarakata Bridge. Open Monday to Saturday, it’s the best place in Santo for local fruit and vegetables, with stalls selling bananas, avocados, watermelons, ginger, chillies, cooked peanuts and whatever else is in season.

Around Santo, you’ll also see roadside stalls, especially along routes such as the East Coast Road. Look out for small sheltered huts selling drinking coconuts, bananas, taro, cassava, kumala and other locally grown produce. Bring cash and stop when you see something you need, as stalls can be spread out.

Dining at Your Accommodation

Self-catering is possible in Santo, especially if you stay in motels, guesthouses, villas or bungalows with private or shared kitchen facilities. Luganville is the most practical base for this, as you’ll be close to supermarkets, the market and convenience stores.

Outside of town, many beach resorts, lodges and bungalows are more meal-focused, with on-site restaurants or meals arranged through your host. If you’re staying on Aore or Malo Island, most bungalows and resorts provide/serve meals, while holiday homes on Aore have private kitchens.

Check out options in Where to Stay in Espiritu Santo: 20 Best Accommodations.

Restaurants on Santo

Restaurants in Santo are mostly concentrated around Luganville, with a few resort restaurants, beach cafés and bungalow dining options scattered further along the east coast. Outside of town, meals are often tied to resorts, beach stops or accommodation, so it pays to plan ahead if you’re doing a full-day road trip.

For more ideas on where to eat, see The Food Guide to Espiritu Santo: Places to Eat & Food Tours.

While we always recommend having all the medication you need with you for your stay on Santo (see What Medication to Pack in Your First Aid Kit for Vanuatu for advice), if there is anything you end up needing, you have limited but useful options for purchasing medication and healthcare products in Luganville.

Medication at Supermarkets and Convenience Stores

Light medications, such as paracetamol, as well as baby products, feminine hygiene products and toiletries are sold in Santo’s larger supermarkets and convenience stores, as listed in the “Food and Groceries” section above. Your best options are the larger supermarkets in Luganville, such as LCM Supermarket, Daming and Sunshine Supermarket.

For anything specific, prescription-only or hard to replace, bring enough from home and keep it in its original packaging.

Pharmacies

Santo’s main independent pharmacy is The Drug Store, located on Main Street in Luganville, next to Uncle Bill’s Store and near a fuel station. It is the only pharmacy in Santo, so don’t leave pharmacy errands until the last minute.

The Drug Store generally operates around 8 am to 5 pm on weekdays only. Stock can be limited, so if you need something important, try there early in the day and early in your trip.

Medical Centres and Hospitals

The main hospital for Santo is Northern Provincial Hospital on Paiaporou Avenue in Luganville. Services include general and specialised nursing services, midwifery, nurse practitioner services, nursing anaesthesia, eye care, ENT and operating theatre services. The hospital also lists paediatrics, obstetrics and gynaecology, surgery, internal medicine, laboratory services, medical imaging, oral health and pharmacy services among its available services.

The hospital’s office hours are 8 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday, while hospital and emergency services are available 24/7.

For private medical assistance in Luganville, ProMedical Vanuatu is another useful contact to know. ProMedical is a private medical and emergency-response provider run by the Vanuatu Emergency Services Association (VESA).

• Medical Santo, Luganville, Espiritu Santo (behind Northern District Police Headquarters Higginson Boulevarde)
• Northern Provincial Hospital, Paiaporou Avenue, Luganville
• ProMedical Vanuatu, Main Street, Village de Santo, Luganville

For more health and safety advice while visiting Santo, check out Vanuatu Safety Tips: Is it Safe to Travel to Vanuatu?

There are only three fuel stations on Santo, all located in Luganville, so fill up before heading out on longer road trips, especially if you’re driving the East Coast Road, heading north or travelling between blue holes, beaches and accommodation outside town.

Fuel stations in Santo are fully serviced, meaning an attendant will fill your vehicle for you. Simply tell the attendant how much fuel you want or how much you would like to spend, then pay the attendant. Cash is best, and fuel prices are slightly higher than in Port Vila.

Fuel stations in Luganville include:

• Pacific Gas Station / Unity Store, Main Street, Luganville
• Gas Station, corner of Main Street and Avenue Pasteur, Luganville
• Gas Station, Main Street, Luganville, west side across the Sarakata River

There are no reliable fuel stops once you get well outside Luganville, so don’t leave town with a near-empty tank.

For more tips for driving around Santo, take a look at How to Drive in Vanuatu + 10 Road Rules You Need to Know, as well as Santo Transport Guide: 10 Ways to Get to (& Around) Santo.

Staying connected in Santo is relatively easy, especially around Luganville. Whether you need a local SIM card, mobile data, postal services or free WiFi, you'll find plenty of options to keep in touch whilst travelling.

Mobile data is generally fast and reliable in the main town of Luganville, but it becomes sparse or drops to slower 3G/E speeds in rural and northern areas.

If you want to stay connected during your trip, your best option is to purchase a local SIM card and data bundle.

Otherwise, a handful of cafés, restaurants and hotels offer WiFi access for customers and guests.

Phone Networks

Vanuatu's two network providers have branches on Santo:

• Digicel – Santo Kiosk, Market House, Main Street, Luganville.
  - Unity Store, Luganville. Digicel Flagship, Main Street, Luganville.
  - LCM Store, LCM Store Building, Main Street, Luganville.
• Vodafone Vanuatu – Luganville Store, Wong Sze Sing Building, Main Street, Luganville.
  - Santo Kiosk, Market House, Main Street, Luganville.

Both providers also have stores in Luganville, although during our last visit, the main retail stores appeared to have irregular opening hours. For this reason, we recommend visiting the market kiosks, which tend to be the most reliable option for purchasing SIM cards and topping up credit.

The airport kiosks are generally geared toward arriving passengers and may not be open during early morning departures.

Learn more about coverage, pricing and data packages in The Best SIM Card in Vanuatu for Travellers.

Post Offices

Offering postal and secretarial services, there are several post offices across Santo.

• Vanuatu Post Luganville – Main Street, Luganville town centre.
• Vanuatu Post Pekoa Airport – Santo-Pekoa International Airport, Luganville.

Opening hours are typically from 8 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday, although hours may vary on public holidays.

Internet and WiFi

Internet and WiFi are available in more places on Espiritu Santo than on many outer islands in Vanuatu, but speeds can be variable. For this reason, we still recommend purchasing a local SIM card with a data plan as the most convenient way to stay connected.

Otherwise, some options include:

• Mataweli Café & Motel, Luganville (free WiFi for customers)
• The Tu Restaurant at The Espiritu, Luganville (free WiFi for customers)
• Beachfront Resort, Luganville (WiFi available with purchase)
• The Espiritu, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Turtle Bay Lodge, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Exclusive Sunrise Resort, Saraoutou (WiFi available for guests)
• Dany Island, Dany Island (WiFi available for guests)
• Lope Lope Beach Bungalows, Saraoutou (WiFi available for guests)
• Hotel Santo, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Luganvilla Business Hotel & Restaurant, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Exclusive Private Island Paradise, Lataro Island (WiFi available for guests)
• Tropicana Motel & Backpackers, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Santo Heritage Lodge, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Surunda Beach House, Surunda (WiFi available for guests)
• Aerodise, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Natapoa Motel, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Le Motel - Hibiscus Attraction Centre, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Coral Sea Motel, Luganville (WiFi available for guests)
• Towoc Bungalows, Hog Harbour (WiFi available for guests)

For more tips on staying connected, check out How to Get Internet & WiFi in Vanuatu.

Should you want to exchange currency or withdraw some cash, there are a few options on Santo. We recommend getting the cash you need in Luganville before exploring the rest of the island, as banking services don't exist outside the main town.

While card payments are becoming more common at resorts, dive operators and larger businesses, cash is still essential for many shops, markets and villages - see What is the Best Way to Pay in Vanuatu?

Banks

Banks can be found in Luganville. They offer services such as foreign exchange and international banking services. Note that banking hours can vary, but branches are typically open from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Monday to Friday.

• BRED Bank, Main Street, Luganville
• ANZ Bank, Main Street, Luganville
• National Bank of Vanuatu, Main Street, Luganville
• National Bank of Vanuatu, Port Olry
• BSP, Main Street, Luganville
• Wanfuteng Bank, Cook Street, Luganville

Note that the above branches also have ATMs accepting most international cards, with Visa and MasterCard generally being the most widely accepted. Learn more in Can You Use Your Credit or Debit Card in Vanuatu?

ATMs

Other than at the bank branches mentioned above, ATMs are concentrated in and around central Luganville. The easiest ATMs to find include:

• BRED Bank Bunny Fung Store, Corner Main Street and Ave Picanon, Luganville
• BRED Bank Santo Branch, Main Street, Luganville
• BRED Bank Unity Store, Main Street, Luganville
• National Bank Luganville Market, Main Street, Luganville
• National Bank Daming Store, Boulevard du General du Gaulle, Luganville,
• National Bank LCC Store, Main Street, Luganville
• BSP Santo-Pekoa International Airport, Luganville
• BSP Santo Branch, Main Street, Luganville
• BSP Sunshine Store, Main Street, Luganville
• BSP Sunshine Shop Sarakata, Rue Dumont d'Urville, Sarakata Street, Luganville
• Wanfuteng Bank Sunshine Shop, Main Street, Luganville
• Wanfuteng Santo Branch, Cook Street, Luganville
• Wanfuteng Bank Unity Shell, Main Street, Luganville

Learn more about paying your way through Santo in What is the Best Way to Pay in Vanuatu?